1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to explosive blast attenuation devices.
2. Description of Related Art
In combat situations, such as in military, police, and/or armored transport operations, it is desirable to protect vehicles, such as tanks, personnel carriers, trucks, and the like, as well as the vehicle's contents, from damage by blasts resulting from detonated explosive devices. Accordingly, such vehicles are known to have elements, such as blast attenuators, that absorb and/or redistribute a blast impulse to reduce the likelihood that the blast will cause penetration of the vehicle. If the blast wave and/or associated spall or shrapnel penetrate the vehicle, the occupants of the vehicle may be injured or the vehicle's ability to operate may be impaired. It is similarly important to protect buildings and other such structures from the deleterious effects of explosive blasts.
One way of at least partially protecting a vehicle and the like from the destructive effects of explosive blasts is to provide armor on the exterior of the vehicle. Such armor typically is made from thick steel plate, which increases the weight of the vehicle substantially. The armor must be sufficiently strong to prevent the blast wave resulting from the explosive blast from penetrating or rupturing the armor.
Another way of protecting vehicles and the like from the destructive effects of explosive blasts is to add crushable elements to the vehicle. Typical crushable elements used in blast attenuators include, for example, honeycomb, foam, and/or corrugated panels that absorb the explosive blast wave. While such crushable elements are effective in absorbing blast loads, they are volumetrically inefficient. Crushable elements having large volumes are required to dissipate the energy of the explosive blast.
While protecting the vehicle or structure and its occupants and equipment is generally of primary importance, other factors may play a role in the design of blast attenuators for the vehicle. For example, it is not desirable for the vehicle's overall size to increase greatly as a result of adding blast attenuators or other such blast protection devices to the vehicle. It is logistically important for existing transportation equipment (e.g., trucks, trailers, aircraft, and the like) to be capable of transporting the vehicle. If the size of the vehicle is increased over previous vehicles, the existing transportation equipment may not be capable of transporting the vehicle, or the existing transportation equipment may be limited to carrying fewer vehicles per load. Additionally, it is desirable to maximize the internal volume of the vehicle to allow adequate space to house the crew and crew gear. Accordingly, blast attenuators having lower volumes generally result in vehicle designs having larger internal volumes. The overall size of the vehicle is also a factor in combat situations. Generally, smaller targets (i.e., smaller vehicles) are more difficult to hit with artillery, such as rockets, mortars, missiles, and the like. Thus, it is desirable for the vehicle's overall size to be smaller, rather than larger, to reduce the likelihood of an artillery hit or explosive impact.
There are many designs of blast attenuators that are well known in the art; however, considerable shortcomings remain.